


Set Your Sails

by WacheyPena



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Actual plot, Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Multi, Pining, Pretend Relationships, Slow Burn, boat shenanigans, fake dating trope, side order of clex, smallville references
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-07-27 08:42:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7611271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WacheyPena/pseuds/WacheyPena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone has been kidnapping and experimenting on meta-humans, and it's up to The Flash and Captain Cold to find out who, by going on a cruise as a couple.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moriavis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moriavis/gifts).



> Everything has been beta read by [kipsi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/kipsi) btw. She is so amazing and helpful.
> 
> **Update 11/6/2016:** I combined all the chapters into one because the next bit is turning out to be really long and I wanted consistency of two long af chapters rather than several small chapters plus one long.

Despite the defeat of Zoom, there were still meta-humans wreaking havoc in Central City. Most were stragglers from Earth 2, but every now and then there would be one that wasn't. Including the Flash's current foe who decided visiting the mall on Saturday was a brilliant idea.

There was screaming all around as patrons tried running or hiding, but a few exceptions stupidly got close to the attacker with their phones out. So Flash dealt with getting them out first. After taking most of the citizens away, the police handling the rest, the speedster attempted to approach and assess this new threat.

Appearing to be male, the meta-human lacked a face and instead looked like a skull engulfed in purple flame, their hands in the same condition. It was almost like some bad ass heavy metal album cover, even down to the plants dying in their wake. Flash could understand why some people may have wanted pictures. But the implications of what this meta-human could do were clear.

"Alright, Skeletor, I"m going to need you to stop right there before you hurt someone," Flash said, getting back to the situation at hand and ignoring the snort on his comm. He figured Cisco would appreciate the quip.

"Help me..." the meta said in response, which hadn't been expected.

"What do you mean? Are you in pain? Are you lost? What help do you need?" Flash replied, now taking the situation much more seriously. He also scrutinized the meta further and was able to note the hunched over position, slow gait, and heavy breathing. In fact, the latter was most telling as it sounded shaky and as if the other person was trying to hold back tears they couldn't possibly emit.

Flash desperately wanted to help, but as soon as he got too close he felt an overwhelming sense of dying and had to step back. And he could tell his actions had only served to dishearten the meta-human further.

"Please, just hold on, I'll try to see how I can help you, okay?" he pleaded, hoping his team had some suggestions.

The meta-human simply shook their head and fell to their knees with a pained cry. Then, they looked into Flash's eyes and used what little strength they had left to whisper venomously: "Luthor!"

\----

It turned out that the purple flames were made of atomic radiation, earning the meta-human the title of 'Atomic Skull' from Cisco. Police had to wear special hazard suits to get access to their body, and much to Barry's relief, paramedics were able to confirm that they had only slipped into a coma. Authorities were still treating them as a convict though, rather than a victim, and had people on guard duty as they recovered in the hospital. Their room quarantined from the main area.

Team Flash needed to find proof of their innocence, but the only lead they had was their last word.

"So we're absolutely sure Atomic Skull said 'Luther'? Cause there aren't that many people with that last name here," Cisco asked as he started searching the web for clues.

"Maybe the one they were referring to is spelled differently?" Caitlin suggested, shrugging.

Cisco looked at her skeptically before typing the name with an 'o,' which turned up one major result: LuthorCorp.

"Shut up," Cisco said, pouting as Caitlin grinned in victory.

"What exactly is LuthorCorp? Is it a business?" Barry asked, getting his friends back on track.

"Yeah, they worked in fertilizer originally, and then expanded to other forms of crop development," Cisco replied as he read over the first site.

"It says here that it was renamed to LexCorp after Lional Luthor's son, Lex, took it over, and their business changed into weapons development for the military," Caitlin added.

"Wow, ego much?" Cisco blurted, especially after reading the full name of Alexander Joseph Luthor. Did the man really think of himself as a conqueror, and had to rename his father's business once he owned it?

"That's a pretty big leap to go from farming to military," Barry stated, pacing the room so he could think clearly.

They continued to look through various websites for more intel on the company but kept turning up with generic information. By the thirtieth site, which presented them with the same garbage, they were beyond frustrated.

"Maybe Iris can find something? I mean she's an investigative journalist, right?" Cisco suggested.

"Or maybe Felicity can--" Caitlin started to say.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no! I am the team hacker! So if any hacking is going to be done, it will be by me," Cisco declared, staring defiantly at his friends and daring them to say otherwise.

"But she would be faster and might find something you can't," Caitlin argued calmly.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Cisco replied.

"Calm down Darth, we'll get Hartley to come over and help you out, sound good?" Barry suggested as a compromise.

"Yeah that's fine," Cisco mumbled, and bit into one of the snacks he had brought in with him.

With the added help of Iris's resources and Hartley's skills, it took Team Flash only a few days to gather staggering evidence that LuthorCorp had been a shady business. When he was alive, Lional Luthor had been sued several times for swindling small businesses and farm owners of their land or money. He had also been convicted and served time for murdering his own parents.

That wasn't to say his prodigal son, Lex, was any better as he had a wrap sheet for drinking and reckless driving, drug possession, and involvement in a shooting at a club. Though reading more into his history had Barry sympathizing with him to some extent. He had lost an infant brother to SIDS, his mom to cancer, and was married multiple times. Each ending with the wife attempting to kill him. Either the man was cursed with bad karma for past transgressions when he was younger or secretly evil.

It certainly didn't help that several cases accusing the company of performing illegal acts of disposal or experimentation were filed under restricted access. It had taken a few hours for Cisco and Hartley's skills to unlock them. The most prevalent fact revealed had been a location: Smallville, Kansas. In fact, nearly everything stemmed from that town.

"So who wants to bet that a company currently based in Metropolis is responsible for our meta-human's condition?" Hartley questioned.

"I'd say it was a sure bet," Iris replied and held up an article about LexCorp wanting to expand across the country, Central City being listed as a potential place of residence.

"Finally! We're up against the most cliche villain of all: a bald billionaire," Cisco joked. No offense to Barry, but he was getting quite tired of going up against speedsters. And now he could check it off of his super hero goals list.

"He's not a Bond villain," Hartley argued.

"This guy has survived multiple attempts on his life. You don't manage that with dumb luck," Barry replied as he brought out one of their transparent dry erase boards to the center of the cortex. Then, he wrote the three names of Lex Luthor, LexCorp and Smallville, in that order from top to bottom.

"Even so, the Flash has no reason to confront him, unless we already have substantiated proof of foul play," Iris pointed out.

"We can always go the espionage route," Hartley suggested.

"Are you thinking of going in by yourself to spy on him?" Caitlin asked, her tone upset.

"Of course not! Barry can come along with me to represent Star Labs since he owns it, and I'll represent my dad's company," Hartley corrected. Barry was totally down for another spy mission as he had managed to pull it off against Snart's dad.

"Whoa, wait a minute, I've been handling the business side of things here. I should go as the Star Labs rep," Cisco protested. He was not going to let Barry mess up the facts that he knew all too well.

"You're not going to wear that shirt again are you?" Hartley questioned, referring to the 'Han shot first' shirt.

"I can dress professionally," Cisco argued.

Everyone else became exasperated as the two of them acted like twelve year old's for the rest of the night.

\----

"Stop messing with your tie, it's fine," Hartley whispered harshly at Cisco as they waited in the lobby. He had provided his friend with some professional attire to wear for their meeting with Luthor.

His parents had been curious as to why he suddenly wanted to get into the business, but Hartley was able to explain it away as expanding his career options. The hard part had actually been getting the engineer to wear a proper suit and tie combination, his hair pulled back into a slick ponytail.

"Still don't see why it had to be purple," Cisco complained.

"Okay, one: it looks great on you, two: it's Lex's favorite color, so 3: it'll distract him from your long hair and his lack of any," Hartley listed off. He had done his research via social media.

Cisco rolled his eyes and wanted to rumple the suit just to spite Hartley. But he was wearing it for the mission and hoped it was enough to earn him Luthor's trust for the time being. LexCorp hadn't made an official purchase of a building or plot of land to use as their base of operations. So for now they were conducting their affairs at a hotel, which meant that Cisco and Hartley would probably have to meet with him again till they could get their hands on his laptop.

"Gentlemen, if you would please follow me," a male member from the wait staff greeted. He then escorted them to a meeting room that contained three other men and one woman. But Lex Luthor was absent.

"Is our host late?" Hartley asked politely.

"I'm afraid Mr. Luthor will not be attending due to personal matters. The two of you shall be speaking with his lawyer and share holders instead," they were given in explanation.

"Oh, well then let's get this meeting underway," Hartley replied, but it was obvious to anyone that he was irritated by this development. He was never that good at hiding his disdain, though he was working on it.

"Can I take off this tie now?" Cisco said, trying to lighten the atmosphere and make this meeting more pleasant. It earned him a chuckle from the woman at least.

An hour later, Cisco had all but Hartley relaxed and laughing. Who knew he was so good at business meetings? At one point though, Hartley claimed he had to go to the bathroom and left the room.

"So it's true that Star Labs works with the Flash?" one of the men asked after Hartley departed.

"Yeah, we assist both him and the CCPD to contain the meta-humans who've decided to use their powers for harm against this city and its people," Cisco clarified, now on alert since he was by himself. It was almost like they had been waiting for his friend to leave so they could pounce.

"By assist, do you mean develop weapons?" another man asked.

"For the police to use, yes," Cisco said, emphasizing the word police. He wanted it to be known that anything he made was to be used by them and them only.

"Have you ever had to patch him up?" the third man asked in a curious tone.

"Uh, yeah, sometimes," Cisco replied, trying to figure out this man's angle. He felt like he was being ganged up on and wished Hartley would return from the bathroom already to back him up. He was afraid he'd mess up and say something he shouldn't without him there.

"So you have samples of his blood?" the same man asked, sounding way too eager. The engineer did not like where his imagination was taking him due to that tone.

"Pardon my colleague, he majored in biology and medicine, and has heard that the Flash heals quite fast," the woman said, able to tell Cisco was uncomfortable with what he was just asked. Her ability to read him made her deadlier than the rest, especially when she smiled at him in an attempt to appear comforting. It had the opposite effect and made him feel even more nervous.

"Yeah he does, and at first we did try to find a medical purpose for his blood but we haven't had the time to look into it lately due to the meta-human attacks," Cisco wound up blabbing out.

"And that is exactly why our companies should work together. We have both the means and the time," she replied, her smile more triumphant.

He should've kept the tie on and his mouth shut.

Hartley had hidden himself away in a break room, not wanting to go back and ruin Cisco's chances of getting what they needed from Luthor's minions. He could tell they were withholding information due to his presence. Their lack of reaction to his leaving confirming it.

A few of the hotel staff walked in, a pair of women and one man, and started to gossip over coffee. Normally, Hartley ignored this sort of nonsense, because it would often be about him, but when one of them mentioned the name Luthor, he had to listen in. No matter what was said, even if exaggerated or completely untrue, they did have basis in fact. So he did his best to appear discreet and unnoticeable by holding his phone, and pretending to play games on it when he was really trying to type out what was being said.

"I don't know why you want to trade rooms with me Darcy, it's the same as all the other rooms," the man said.

"Because Gus, she's trying to be the next Mrs. Luthor," one of the women whispered.

"Pfft, how do you plan to pull that off?" Gus asked.

"Simple, I'm exactly his type: brunette, tanned, and hazel eyed. So all I have to do is get his attention," Darcy explained as she touched up some of her make up.

"Uh huh, so are a lot of other girls out there, so good luck with that," the other woman stated.

"I thought he swore off women and is dating a man now?" Gus asked in confusion.

"It's just a phase," Darcy protested.

"So that's why the boss is on a romantic cruise with him instead of here?" the other woman challenged. She was portly and looked to be in her mid to late forties.

"Shut up Betty! He's probably giving him one last chance to be with him before dumping him and moving on," Darcy continued to say in denial.

"I don't know about that, from what I hear they've known each other a long time, back when Mr. Luthor himself was a young man," Betty explained, sipping her coffee.

"Whatever, it's not going to last, because he can't give Lex kids, which is something he's always wanted," Darcy said in reply.

"They can adopt," Gus pointed out.

Before Darcy had a chance to argue further, another employee came in, most likely their supervisor as she gave them pointed looks which caused them to scurry out of the break room and back to work. She then approached Hartley and said: "Sir, you shouldn't be in this room."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't been to his hotel and got lost," he replied calmly, moving out of his hunched over position and standing at his full height, chin held high.

"Mr. Rathaway! I apologize, my name is Courtney, and I can escort you to our guest break room or any room you need to go into," she offered after recognizing him. Everyone in this town was aware of him and his family, especially their money.

"Thank you, that would be appreciated, though I have a question for you: does your hotel often employ people of the homophobic variety?" Hartley asked in concern. His sexuality was very well known after his parents had initially disowned him for it.

"I am unaware of any of our employees being as such, could you please clarify?" Courtney asked cordially.

"Just now, one of the maids, I believe her name was Darcy, stated she has intentions of seducing one of your guests away from their boyfriend, claiming that relationship was 'just a phase,'" Hartley explained, not holding back any of his disdain.

"Sir, I am sorry that you've had to hear such things from one of our staff. Rest assured they will be handled accordingly. Would you like to file a complaint?" Courtney replied calmly.

A complaint from him would be devastating towards this hotel's reputation, but she had to offer it as part of her job. He could also get that maid fired and ruin any prospects she had of getting to work at another hotel. He felt very tempted to do it, but he was a different person than who he used to be. At least in the ways that mattered. Besides, filing a complaint wouldn't get him the information he needed.

"Actually, I have a better idea, one that could prove beneficial to us both," Hartley replied with a confident smile. Courtney gave him a skeptical look but listened to what he had to say.

By the time he was done, Hartley was walking back into the meeting room carrying a tray of pastries, his good mood matching those of Luthor's employees. Cisco looked out of sorts though, so Hartley offered him a pastry first.

"Sorry for taking so long, I got lost. The staff here is really helpful though, and even provided me a snack," he explained calmly.

"I'm glad they were able to assist you, Mr. Rathaway, but I'm afraid this meeting has concluded," one of the men replied, all of them standing.

"Oh, well I'm sure Mr. Ramon can catch me up on what I missed," Hartley shrugged, acting uninterested in anything else they had to say; a clear dismissal. They were smart enough to take the hint and had left without another word.

"You left me alone with those sharks!" Cisco finally said in exclamation. He had thought the term sharks was an exaggeration when used to describe business types, but he now knew first hand that it was aptly put.

"Did you sign something while I was away?" Hartley questioned in concern. If the engineer had signed a contract with them already, the plan was getting fucked sideways with a spoon.

"No, but they know what we have on the Flash," Cisco replied, his panic palpable. He hadn't meant to let them know as much as he did, even though he was vague with some facts and firm on others.

"Oh, okay then, calm down and eat something. We'll talk about what was said here with the others," Hartley said, relieved they still had a chance to back out if necessary from making any deals with this company.

"What the hell were you doing anyway?" Cisco demanded to know.

"Finding out Luthor's location from the hotel staff," Hartley said, smirking as he bit into another pastry. It was a cherry tart and it was delicious.

\----

Returning to Star Labs, they discovered Caitlin and Iris had contacted and were working with Felicity, as she was sitting with them in the cortex.

"What is this? I thought I said no," Cisco stated in lieu of a greeting. He felt so betrayed. Weren't he and Hartley enough? Of course he was only being dramatic, it had been a long and trying day for him.

"Well you were busy, and seeing as how LexCorp is trying to form an alliance with Palmer Industries, it makes sense to combine our efforts, don't you think? Nice tux by the way," Felicity replied before resuming her work. She knew not to take his whining about her being there seriously.

"Thanks. Did he actually attend your meeting?" Cisco said, walking over to grab his bag of spare clothes. He was not wearing this penguin suit a minute longer than necessary.

"Yeah, but not for long, because apparently he and Oliver attended school together and Oliver had called him a cueball back then," Felicity explained in irritation. What little interaction she had with him wasn't helpful either as he had remained professional up until Oliver had shown up. Their animosity towards each other was evident, but neither man would explain why.

"Wait, are you guys saying you didn't get to meet him?" Iris asked in concern. She had been writing down notes onto the dry erase board for everyone to look over and see. So far, she had herself and Caitlin listed under Smallville, as well as Hartley and Cisco under LexCorp. She was using the words Barry had written down the other night as team names.

"No, and Hartley left me alone to deal with his share holders! They know that we work with the Flash and made it pretty obvious they want to use what weapons we make and Barry's blood for nefarious, evil purposes," Cisco ranted, and threw his tux jacket at Hartley's face.

"That only confirms what we already know about them, and you didn't sign anything or give away Barry's identity," Hartley countered, having caught the jacket and placed it properly onto a chair.

"So what were you doing?" Caitlin questioned setting up a privacy screen for Cisco to change behind. He jogged over to do so, grateful he could still remain in the room and be part of the conversation.

"I had overheard some of the hotel staff gossiping about Luthor, and was able to strike a deal with one of the managers to give up his current location," Hartley explained, quite proud of himself.

"That's great! Where is he?" Iris asked, ready to write it down on the board.

"Pacific Princess Cruises, for the next two weeks, with his boyfriend," Hartley said, pausing dramatically before emphasizing the last word.

"Oh my," Caitlin stated. She along with the rest had wondered about the name and had at first assumed it catered to women of the posh variety. But the knowledge that Lex Luthor was now dating a man explained the peculiar name.

"I am not going on a cruise with you Hartley!" Cisco exclaimed from behind the privacy screen.

"Neither of us can go, because Luthor's people are going to want to meet with us again for further negotiations," Hartley pointed out. He also got seasick, but he wouldn't admit to that.

"Hey, maybe I can come along with you guys to the meetings, that way it's less overwhelming for all of us," Felicity suggested. Cisco came out in his usual wardrobe and immediately agreed with her idea. The more people he had to help him go against those sharks the better.

In response, Iris jotted down Felicity's name to team LexCorp. She hesitated for a moment before writing Barry's name on the board as there was only one team left to fill.

"Wait, does that mean we're going to have Barry go on the--" Cisco started to say, a grin forming on his face.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, but Captain Singh had some last minute stuff he wanted me to do before he goes off on vacation. What did I miss?" Barry said, having run into the room. He was glad to see all of his friends working together, and was pleasantly surprised to see Felicity was among them too. They'd make even more progress on the case with her help.

"Funny you should mention vacation, cause Barry, my friend, we need you to go on a cruise," Cisco replied, his grin positively maniacal.

"A gay cruise," Hartley added plainly, which in turn caused Cisco to start laughing.

"What?" Barry asked, completely dumbfounded. He was given a gentle pat from Felicity before everything was properly explained to him.

"Are you alright with doing this Barry?" Iris asked once he understood everything they had learned and what they were asking him to do.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, we have to get to him somehow and if pretending to be gay will do it, I'll do it. But who would be my partner?" Barry asked.

He knew going by himself would be a disaster, because anyone would be able to tell he was straight, and even if he could pull off being something else, he'd have to deal with being single on a boat and possibly getting hit on. And if Luthor was the monogamous type, he wouldn't appreciate a single man approaching him to get to know him. Or worse, if he didn't have an exclusive relationship with his boyfriend, he might actually expect Barry to follow through and have sex with him. That thought alone made the speedster shudder, and he realized he really didn't want to do this alone.

"I'd say my friend Curtis could help, but he's married," Felicity answered first. There was also the fact that Barry didn't know him all that well, and wasn't sure he'd be the right man for the job to go on an spy mission.

"Wally's busy with school right now," Iris said after, surprising Barry that she'd volunteer her brother like that. His mind boggling once again, but over the thought of making out with his other adopted sibling.

"My brother's too much of a ladies man," Cisco offered next, causing Wally to morph into Dante in Barry's mind. That thought wasn't any better.

"I have no friends aside from you guys," Hartley stated when everyone looked at him to suggest someone.

Then, all eyes turned to Caitlin who didn't have any siblings or other male friends she knew of that could possibly help Barry out with this situation. In fact, there was only one man she could think of and she was pretty sure they wouldn't like it. He had worked with them before, but proved he couldn't be trusted and would take advantage whenever he could. He was also known as a brilliant strategist, having eluded authorities for years and having used his skills to find out the Flash's secret identity.

Taking a deep breath, Caitlin faced her friends with a firm expression and gave them her suggestion.

\----

Leonard Snart had just gotten back to his current safe house with groceries and take out when he spotted his sister talking excitedly into her phone. From her exaggerated giggle and flirtatious tone, he had a pretty good idea who was on the other line as only Ramon got her to behave like that. Either way, he went about putting away what he had bought and setting up their dinner on the counter.

"We're having chicken enchiladas tonight, what do you want to drink?" he asked after she ended the call.

"Coke, and the Flash needs your help with something," Lisa replied, setting up two fold out tables for them to use.

"I wasn't aware I was on call," Len replied sarcastically, grabbing the soda for his sister and a water for himself.

"They offered to pay this time," Lisa said, coming over to grab her food.

"I'm listening," Len responded, bringing his own food over to a table and sitting down on the couch.

"They're trying to investigate some billionaire, but he's going on a cruise with his lover. So they need you to pose as the Flash's boyfriend for a two-week boat ride," Lisa explained, sitting down next to him.

Len had to pause cutting into his food and tried to place the back of his hand against his sister's forehead to check her temperature. She smacked his hand away and then started to cut into her food.

"Why me?" Len asked, his tone neutral. To most it gave away nothing, but his sister knew he only used it when the question was really important to him.

"Because you're their best option for the job they need done," Lisa replied to reassure him.

"Let me guess: I was the only option that happened to live nearby?" Len said more than asked. He highly doubted Barry wanted to interact with him again of his own volition. This was strictly a convenience for them and their little mission. He felt tempted to reject the offer despite the money.

"Stop that, they want you. So take the job, screw the Flash and get over whatever funk you're in," Lisa scolded. They had been pulling small time heists here and there, which kept them fed, but it was obvious Len's heart was no longer in it, his mind on other matters.

This restlessness had started after Mardon had broken him out of Iron Heights. Even though she didn't know the specifics, Lisa was aware that her brother had been offered to kill the Flash, but hadn't taken it. In fact, he had warned the hero of what was going on, which was the only detail she and Mick were privy to. After all, he knew of the speedster's secret identity. However, he hadn't made a move against the Flash since learning it.

There had also been the incident with their dad, when he had helped them out and proved to be a decent guy. So Lisa could understand why her brother would grow to care about him. It was the only explanation she could come up with for his melancholic behavior as of late.

"This is an opportunity, Lenny, you have to take it," she reiterated. If she had the chance to woo Cisco over two weeks, alone on a romantic cruise, she'd go for it, no questions asked.

"Fine, contact Ramon and let him know we'll meet with them tomorrow to negotiate. Now eat your dinner before it gets cold," Len replied and resumed eating.

Lisa gleefully did so, relieved she wouldn't have to fight her brother tooth and nail to do this. It would have spoiled their dinner.

The next day, the two of them along with Mick arrived at Star Labs to see what Team Flash had to offer. Though judging from their expressions, they hadn't expected all three of them to show up.

"Hey, Snart, what part of the invite asking for just Captain Cold did you not get?" Cisco said sharply.

"I'm afraid we're a packaged deal, Ramon, but if it's a problem then we'll be on our way. Best of luck with your little crusade," Len replied and turned to leave. He was disappointed Barry wasn't even there to tease, and felt partly insulted that the speedster didn't think him important enough to meet.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a second! It's fine, they can stay. We'll just have to figure out something for them to do, but we really need your help on this," a blonde haired woman they hadn't met before said, having stepped in front of them to prevent their leaving. Physically, she couldn't really stop them, but her audacity was impressive.

"And you are?" Lisa prompted, trying to assess the woman.

"Felicity Smoak, hi!" She responded with an awkward laugh.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Cisco replied as he gave Mick a sideways glance. It was then evident that their main issue was with Mick's presence, as the two Snart siblings had proven to be perfectly calm and rational together. The pyromaniac, not so much.

"Guys, we don't have a lot of time to prep before Barry and Mr. Cold here have to hop on a jet and get on that boat. So forget about whatever grudges you're holding, and let's get what we can done," the blonde ordered. From how the others responded, Len had to assume she was used to being obeyed and was the leader when Barry was absent.

"Felicity!" Cisco and Caitlin exclaimed in shock.

"What?" she asked, not realizing her blunder.

"They don't know the Flash's identity," Hartley answered from where he was sitting. He was working on securing tickets for the cruise, but it was a difficult endeavor, especially since it was very last minute.

"But I thought Snart already knew?" Felicity asked confused.

"I do, they don't, as per the agreement between him and myself," Len explained as he walked over to the dry erase board to see what was written. He vaguely remembered the name Luthor, but he didn't know from where.

"If we're really going to do this, we should know all the details so we know what needs to be done," Lisa said, approaching Cisco's location. Mick found himself a chair to sit in and kept quiet. He could read the room, and right now he needed to be calm while everyone else made plans.

"We're going after a billionaire who's possibly kidnapping and experimenting on meta-humans or is creating them," Felicity started to explain.

She had returned to one of the computers and was typing away furiously to display some files onto one of their larger monitors, letting the Rogues see the information for themselves. There were far too many to just skim over them though, so Len requested that copies be made for him. That way he wouldn't be going in blind on this trip. Wouldn't do to mention a topic that pissed off their target or alerted him to what they were doing.

"These are our main leads, and these are the teams we've come up with to handle them," Iris said as she came up to Len at the dry erase board. He scrutinized the names more closely and noticed his last name had been written next to Barry's with a question mark. So he casually erased it and put Leonard it its place.

"Smallville?" he asked, looking at Iris to explain.

"A lot of the information we have originates from that town, so Caitlin and I are going there to investigate," she answered. Len wrote down Mick's name next to their's in response.

"You might stumble onto something you shouldn't, and will need someone to watch your back," Len explained before she could ask. He knew not to underestimate a small town with dark secrets. And Mick would suit better as a body guard rather than a fake boyfriend or secretary.

Then, he added Lisa's name to the group that included Ramon. She'd adapt to whatever they needed her to be, and he knew how much she wanted to spend time with the engineer. So why not spoil her while he can?

"Okay, now that we have assignments figured out, do you have any preferences towards a fake name?" Felicity asked.

She had been creating a fake identity for Snart as one of Palmer Industries employees. If Luthor was the type to do background checks on everyone he met, this would help to throw him off of Len's real character. He'd also assume that Len was trying to spy on him for Felicity's company instead of for the Flash. It was a precautionary measure, and Len appreciated it as he came over to read the file she had made so far. He made a mental note to remember her for future reference.

"Keep my first name, and Scofield for the surname," he answered finally.

"Of course you watched Prison Break," Cisco muttered from where he was sitting. A short, tense silence ensuing after he spoke as no one knew what to say to that. Well, Len did, but it wasn't appropriate.

"So what are we doing right now?" Mick suddenly asked, breaking the tension.

"You're going on a road trip with these ladies, so clean the car and change its oil," Len ordered.

"Whatever you say boss," Mick replied, getting up to do just that. He had nothing better to do. But before he even exited the room a certain speedster came running in.

"Sorry guys, I had to jump through hoops to get my vacation time through and why are all the Rogues here?" Barry babbled as he took in his surroundings. He had only expected Len to be there.

"It's a wonder how you ever kept a secret identity," Hartley said incredulously.

"Indeed," Len agreed. Now his sister would start snooping into Barry's life to see why he was so smitten with him. And the smirk from Mick wasn't helping matters either.

\----

After Barry's unintentional reveal of his super hero identity to Lisa and Mick, plans for his and Len's boat trip became the main focus, because they only had till Sunday to prepare and it was already Thursday.

First, there was the easy but expensive task of getting their tickets for the cruise itself. Hartley had to remind himself that it was for a good cause, and though it would've been cheaper to get them a regular cabin, he wanted Luthor to think Leonard Scofield was a man of importance like himself, but not so much that it would undermine the billionaire's ego. So a mini-suite with a balcony was the room he got for them. Barry promised to eventually pay him back, but Hartley wouldn't hold his breath. By comparison, Felicity's task of supplying a jet and limo to get them to Fort Lauderdale, Fl, where the boat was leaving, was criminally cheap.

Then, it was a matter of getting them both passports along with an ID for Leonard Scofield. Len knew a guy though, so that part wasn't as hard as Felicity's work. She had to flesh out an entire history and paper trail for Len's new identity to be believable. She really went above and beyond too, including enough of the truth so Len wouldn't have to recall so many new facts. But they weren't enough to give away that he was Leonard Snart specifically.

Finally, a shopping spree, because Len didn't have the necessary clothing to pull off being one of Palmer Industries employees. Barry also needed a tux or two, and a new pair of swimming trunks. Both Iris and Lisa deciding to help him with packing.

"I swear, if I had known Lenny was going to start dating Mr. Rogers I would've gotten him a Pee-Wee Herman suit," Lisa teased as she went through Barry's closet of many sweaters and vests.

"Interesting pairing choice," Iris replied awkwardly. She agreed that her friend's personal style could be a bit dorky but he had some good clothes to wear and make them work.

"You don't have to be here for this," Barry said, getting his suitcase out from under his bed.

"Oh yes I do. Gotta make sure you dress your best for my brother," Lisa replied, having moved onto one of Barry's drawers. Then, she pulled out a small pair of black undies that had been hidden away.

"Give me those! I'm not taking these," Barry protested and snatched his underwear back from her hands.

"Yes you are! You and my brother are going as a couple, remember? So one if not both of you should pack something sexy for the trip," Lisa argued.

"She's got a point, Barr. It's perfectly normal for a couple to want to dress sexy for each other, and you never know, someone might go through your things and find it weird that you don't have anything," Iris said, able to explain the point in a way that had Barry putting the black silk underwear into the packing pile.

"Probably shouldn't bring the Flash suit then, huh?" he asked sheepishly. Both women gave a resounding no. It was way too risky, and there wouldn't be a reasonable explanation for the Flash to be on the cruise unless he was one of the passengers.

"If it helps any: Len owns a thong. I'll make sure he takes it with him," Lisa said, resuming her teasing.

"I don't need that visual," Barry replied, his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh please, he'll make you work for it before you ever see it," Lisa replied, contrarily defending Len's honor.

"Augh, stop please!" Barry protested as Lisa laughed at him.

"Better get used to it, Barr. After all, you and Len have to convince Luthor that you're an actual, loving couple," Iris reminded.

"That's right! You'll have to hold hands, hug, and even kiss!" Lisa taunted, now sitting down on the bed.

"And not just kisses on the cheek either," Iris added, getting in on the teasing.

"Why are you ganging up on me? Her I understand, but you're my friend!" Barry complained.

"Because you're leaving me alone to explain this whole mess to dad," Iris replied, referring to the fact that Joe was being kept out of the loop until Barry was already on the boat with Len. That way the older man couldn't interfere and stop their plans.

"Fair enough," Barry said, conceding to her point as always. He wondered if his nemesis turned ally was having as much fun packing as he was.

Len was with Hartley and Felicity at a high class men's store, the two of them acting as his sugar parents for the time being. Aside from a black, navy blue, and silver business suit, Len chose pieces that could work in various ensembles. Some of these articles of clothing included: black and brown loafers, striped shirts, solid colored polo shirts, beige pants and shorts, a white blazer, and some accessories such as a pair of glasses. The last item made him look more approachable.

"Alright, I've grabbed a few ties for you to pick from, so which ones do you want?" Hartley said, presenting seven. All but one were patterned, the exception being solid in color, but all of them were purple.

"I prefer blue or black," Len said bluntly. He understood he needed to venture outside of just those two colors as they made up the entirety of his wardrobe at home, but that's what gray, white and beige were for.

"Luthor's favorite color is purple," Hartley explained like it was a no brainer and presented the ties again.

"Good for him, he's creative, but I won't wear it," Len replied, his tone firm.

"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend purple either. Our meeting had been brief, but it was enough time for him to tell me how he hates it when people try to get his attention with his favorite color, especially since most of them are sycophants," Felicity intervened, preventing them from really arguing over it. She said in addition: "Besides, blue is his power color."

"Fine, I got it, purple is a red flag," Hartley conceded and put the ties back.

"Speaking of red," Len started to say and lifted up a solid red tie for them to see. He then asked: "For Barry?"

"Aw, that's cute!" Felicity replied and took the tie.

Taking her reaction as a positive, Len proceeded to pick out various other things here and there for Barry such as a watch and shoes, using the excuse that a loving couple would give each other gifts. He even eyed a ring but refrained from mentioning it. There was pretending, and then there was getting lost in the fantasy. He had to remember this wasn't going to be real. So he only picked out five items to 'gift' the speedster with while on the trip.

Hartley and Felicity shared a skeptical look and began to wonder as their shopping continued.

\----

Soon enough it was Sunday, and Len and Barry had only two and half hours left before their 'relationship' began. Needless to say, they had a lot of last minute reading to do and go over, because claiming to be a couple could only get them so far. If they knew little to nothing about each other and strictly relied on improvisation, they'd screw up faster than a lightning strike.

"So when did we first meet?" Len asked, testing the speedster while he carefully read over the information packet given to them by Felicity. Lisa, Iris and Caitlin had worked along with her to add a story to how their relationship came to be and functioned. He had no intention of asking all the sexual questions Lisa had come up with though, because it was no one's business what their imaginary sex life was like.

"Felicity introduced us at one of her fundraisers," Barry replied, having used his speed reading. He'd most likely have to do it a few more times to get the details memorized for longer than thirty minutes. But right now he was giving Len a chance to remember what he needed to.

"Our first date?" Len asked next. He tried to remember the last time he had had an actual date, and came up empty. He had the looks and was given offers, but they had always been one night stands. And in his line of work, emotional attachments tended to be one's downfall.

"Started awkwardly at a French restaurant, but ended really well at a Big Belly Burger," Barry answered promptly. He had a feeling Felicity was basing this answer off of one of her own dates with Ollie, but he didn't mind. It gave the statement more credibility in his mind.

"My favorite color?" Len asked, knowing the answer was too easy. He tried to think of a way to make it more interesting.

"Blue," Barry said, rolling his eyes. The man was wearing a navy blue and creamy white striped sweater over a blue buttoned up shirt, a dark blue, nearly black tie, a gray blazer, blue pants, blue socks, and black oxfords. If it weren't for the black rimmed glasses, his outfit would give away that he was Captain Cold and not just a well dressed businessmen.

"What shade specifically?" Len challenged, curious to see how the speedster would respond.

"Uh, sapphire? Navy? Ocean? Sky?" Barry guessed, Len shaking his head to every answer and smirking in triumph.

"It's Prussian blue," Len finally answered. He said this to verify whether or not Barry was really interested in getting to know him, or was just going through the motions for this mission. If he asked why that shade, then Len would admit his real favorite color. Any other answer would serve to remind Len that there was nothing more to this than him being a convenience.

"That's not even on here, why did you ask that?" Barry complained, having grabbed the packet to see for himself if the question had been on there. Len tried not to feel too disappointed that the speedster had asked the wrong question. He shouldn't have hoped for it.

"Just messing with you," Len replied, criminal smirk in place. It was a defense mechanism that only Lisa and Mick were aware of. The speedster knew of some of his tells since they'd interacted enough as Captain Cold and the Flash, but he hadn't figured out all of them yet.

"Screw you, Snart," Barry said, clearly agitated.

"Not until we're on the boat, Scarlet," Len teased, pushing when he shouldn't. At this point he was lashing out from his own hurt feelings. Perhaps it was a mistake agreeing to this?

"Whatever, I'm going to test you now, okay?" Barry replied, clearly wanting to move on.

"Go right ahead," Len said, taking a moment to calm down. An argument wouldn't necessarily hurt their appearance as a couple, but it would eventually become an issue if they kept it up, because no one wanted to deal with another couple's drama while they were trying to enjoy their own vacation.

"Alright, what was our first fight about?" Barry asked. It wasn't to be ironic, it just happened to be the next question.

"Coming out to your surrogate dad, which we still haven't done so it's a sore subject," Len answered with no problem. Leaving Detective West out of the loop didn't seem wise in his opinion, but Barry was sure he would've prevented their plans or died from a heart attack. He was probably right, but that didn't stop Len from disagreeing.

"Our living arrangements?" the speedster asked next.

"Long distance, we commute on the weekends, but I'm working on getting a job in Central City so we can live together," Len explained, again with no problem. His natural ability to remember details showing. He had only read through half of the packet, so if Barry chose to ask something he hadn't read yet, he'd have to guess.

"My favorite animal?" Barry said as he read over the answer Iris had provided for him. He didn't talk about animals often if at all, so he wasn't surprised to find the wrong one. Was the choice of turtle supposed to be poking fun at his lateness or his speed?

"Sloths, and not for the irony, you just find them adorable," Len said, surprising the speedster.

"How do you know that?" Barry demanded. He was definitely concerned as to how Len knew the right answer, but he was also a little impressed.

"It's on your Facebook, Barry," Len answered bluntly. He had his own now too, under Leonard Scofield, thanks to Felicity.

She had been so thorough with creating his identity and his 'relationship' with Barry that they each had a gallery featuring images of them together. Len felt she, along with Lisa, Iris and Cisco had way too much time on their hands and were having more than enough fun at their expense.

"...favorite color?" Barry eventually replied, having checked his Facebook page. He was a tad upset that Felicity had hacked his password, and changed things around rather than simply asked him to update it with the appropriate information.

"Orange," Len replied. If asked, he even knew what shade: the color of Nora Allen's hair. A lot of the details he was aware of came from having studied Barry a while ago. The only details Len really needed to go over were the fictional ones.

"How do I like my hot chocolate?" Barry asked, staring at Len challengingly. The question wasn't in the packet, but he wanted to know if the other man could answer it correctly.

"With a hint of mint," Len answered calmly. Confirming without a doubt what Barry suspected.

"Wow, stalker much?" Barry said. He wondered how much Len really knew about him. It felt invasive for the other man to know so much, and unfair that he knew hardly anything about Len.

"Barry, are you really up for this? Because I'm getting the distinct impression you'd rather throw me off of this plane," Len replied, his patience for Barry's anger having run out. It was wasting time they couldn't afford. And after a tense silence of glares and sitting rigidly, he firmly reminded: "You asked for my help, remember? I'm not going to give you that if you keep treating me this way."

It was a moment later before Barry looked away, his aggressive posture deflating with a sigh. He knew the other man was right, because Len didn't have to help them and could have easily refused. And if this mission was to go off without a hitch, the two of them would have to get along and work together. They only had each other after all.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about my friends, and worried we might be going after the wrong person. And I'm not comfortable with--" Barry started to say in apology.

"Me?" Len interrupted, assuming the worst based off of the speedster's reactions to him so far.

"No, with pretending to be gay," Barry admitted. He was a very straight male. Though there had been an incident or two during college, and that sort of but not really crush on Oliver. But who didn't find Oliver attractive?

"Barry, give me your hands," Len said, holding his own out, palms up.

The speedster was confused by the request, but obeyed it. He could feel calluses on Len's hands, and assumed it was from gun usage. The thief's skills as a sharp shooter having been mentioned in his original criminal file. That document was no longer around, but Barry remembered what he had read from it. Other than the calluses though, Len's hands were cool and gentle with their grip. His fingers were longer than Barry's too, the nails trimmed neatly and the skin smooth. Len obviously took great care of his hands.

"You don't have to pretend, just be yourself, and if someone does ask you anything, tell them the truth," Len explained, his thumb rubbing the top of Barry's hands. He wasn't a very touchy feely person, but to pull off the appearance of a couple, they'd both have to get used to displaying affection like normal people.

"That I'm straight?" Barry replied, not sure why Len's hand motions were making him blush. The intense eye contact was also increasing his embarrassment, making everything feel more intimate than it should.

"That I'm the first man you have ever been with, and we're taking things slow," Len replied. Aside from public displays of affection, he had no issues whatsoever with this mission. The main obstacle would be Barry's nerves. And possibly Lex Luthor.

"We've been together at least half a year according to our Facebook, so how slow do you mean?" Barry questioned. He was sure if he and Len were in an actual relationship they would've had sex within the first week. Wait, why did he think that?

"Slow enough. I live in Star City and we both work. So we haven't had the time to really get that far in our relationship," Len said, noting the speedster's blush increasing the further they talked. He wondered if it was the hand holding or something else that was causing it.

"And this trip is our opportunity to do that? Doesn't that mean we have to be all over each other and not leave our suite?" Barry said, his tone nervous, but not for the reason Len assumed.

Unlike his imaginings of Wally and Dante, which had disturbed him on many levels, the thought of being with Len was actually pleasant. Not that he would say so out loud, as he wasn't even ready to admit to thinking of it. Barry decided to blame all the teasing from Iris and Lisa for his thoughts.

"Not necessarily, every couple is different. We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable with, Barry," Len reassured. He may be a criminal, but he wasn't so morally dubious that he'd force himself on someone.

"Thanks, I appreciate that, but I was thinking maybe we should practice...?" Barry said after a long pause. He couldn't believe he was really asking for this, but it made sense logically that they'd practice so when they had to apply it to the mission, it would look and feel natural. If he happened to be sating a curiosity at the same time, so be it.

"Practice what, Scarlet?" Len asked, deciding to keep use the nickname. Neither had brought their costumes along, and the speedster blushed so much that the endearment fit.

"You know what I mean," Barry replied, too embarrassed to clarify or scold the other man for using the nickname outside of Flash business.

"No, I don't," Len teased. He did know, but he wanted Barry to say it.

"Kissing. I think we should practice kissing," Barry finally said.

"Sure, I'm all yours," Len replied, leaning forward, his signature smirk firmly in place, and his gaze challenging.

Barry wanted to smack that expression right off of his face, but that wouldn't be conducive to their mission. Instead, he gave Len a quick, chaste peck on the lips. In fact, it was so fast that Len felt nothing but air.

"Okay, you're blushing more...did you kiss me using super speed?" Len asked, his tone teasing though he was honestly puzzled.

In reply, Barry glared at him before moving forward and kissing the other man again. Using more effort and going at a normal pace. The two men kept their eyes open, with expressions daring the other to stop first. Inevitably, the need for oxygen won out.

"Why are your lips so chapped?" Barry asked, catching his breath. It was the first thing he had noticed about Len's mouth, along with minty fresh breath.

"I bite them a lot. Usually when I see something I want or when I try not to say something I'll regret," Len replied honestly, out of breath as well.

In response, Barry remembered previous interactions where he had seen Len biting his lip in front of him, specifically when looking him up and down. He hadn't realized at the time that it could possibly be considered flirting as he wasn't used to receiving it from anyone, let alone a man. Did that mean Len found him attractive? If that really was the case, Barry found himself okay with it rather than bothered. In fact, it bolstered his confidence more than anything.

Holding onto this feeling of assurance, Barry surged forward to kiss Len again. This time with his eyes closed, head tilted, and taking advantage of Len's open mouth by inserting his tongue. Len hadn't expected it, but didn't hesitate to use his own tongue against Barry's. The information packet was forgotten and fell somewhere as they continued to kiss in a filthy manner.

"Okay...okay...I'm not as straight as I thought," Barry eventually confessed when he finally pulled away, getting back to his seat.

"Indeed," Len agreed with a chuckle. If the speedster continued to kiss him like that, there would be no doubt whatsoever that they were a couple. Then again, with the way Barry kept staring at him now and biting his own lip, whatever this was could turn into a distraction.

"Let's get back to quizzing each other," he suggested as he straightened his glasses.

Barry hastily looked for the packet in response, needing to concentrate on something else before he gave into his impulse to kiss Len again and possibly join the mile high club. Oh who was he kidding, he wasn't that adventurous! He would only kiss Len, and nothing more!

A nagging voice in the back of his head that sounded an awful lot like Joe in pain was calling him a liar.

-tbc


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of the cruise :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by [Mockingbird_22](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mockingbird_22).

Joe West wasn't a detective for nothing. He knew something was up when Barry was in a hurry to get vacation time approved. The speedster had to go through him to apply for it after all. He had been given a vague explanation that it was for a meta-human situation, but Barry had acted squirrely enough that Joe knew it was more than that. He was willing to give his son the benefit of the doubt though, and assumed that if it had been really serious he'd be let in on the case.

Then, Iris showed up at the precinct with his favorite batch of cookies from the local bakery. He didn't give her a chance to speak before gesturing that they talk in Barry's lab.

"Alright, out with it, what is he up to this time?" he asked as soon as the door closed.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat your cookies first?" Iris asked nervously.

"That bad huh?" Joe said more than asked as he took the offered bag. He'd wait to eat them though, because he didn't want to start choking after his daughter explained what was going on.

"Okay, first off: we've been investigating the situation with Atomic Skull and suspect Lex Luthor is involved," Iris began to say. She wanted her dad to have some context before letting him know Barry's whereabouts.

"And Lex Luthor is?" Joe asked expectantly. He was aware of Atomic Skull thanks to Cisco dropping off their file for the CCPD's meta-humans list.

"He's a billionaire who works along with the military, and is interested in setting up shop here," Iris answered promptly, and provided a recent news article showing the man's picture for her dad to see.

"Of course, Lord knows we'd eventually get an evil billionaire on our hands," Joe stated as he looked at it. The bald head and arrogant expression just screamed villain. He gestured for her to continue explaining.

"So far we know he has a lot of history in Smallville, which is where Caitlin and I are going to be all this coming week," she explained calmly. It wasn't the whole truth, as she hadn't mentioned Rory coming along, but she didn't want her dad committing murder just yet.

"Smallville...?" Joe questioned, needing clarification. He appreciated her giving him fair warning for at least this part of their planning.

"Kansas, we'll only be a few hours away," Iris reassured. She had no doubt she'd have to promise to call in every night to let him know they were fine, but that would only be a minor inconvenience.

"Alright, so where is Barry?" he replied, accepting her reassurance that she would be safe.

"I'm getting to that. You see, Cisco and Hartley tried to setup a business meeting with Luthor so they could spy on him and his company from the inside, but he didn't show up for it. So Hartley did some investigating and found out his current location," Iris explained.

"And Barry thought it was a brilliant idea to go in and face Luthor alone?" Joe said more than asked. He came to this conclusion, because it was Barry. He'd risk his own life before letting others get hurt, and if Luthor was as deadly as they all suspected, the speedster was definitely putting everyone else's safety above his own.

"Dad, he's not alone, we've got some of team Arrow helping us out, and--" Iris replied, referring to Felicity specifically. She tried to mention the Rogues too, but Joe interrupted by reiterating his demand for Barry's location. So she sighed and said: "He's on a gay cruise dad."

"Oh please don't tell me he's on a ship with Oliver Queen!" Joe whined. He had no problem with Barry being gay or bisexual, but he was well aware of Barry's crush on that man. His son didn't give that smitten smile for nothing! And he didn't want that bastard breaking his son's heart!

"Actually, Oliver has a bad history with Luthor, so he couldn't go," Iris said quietly. She dreaded having to tell her dad the truth.

"So he's with Cisco?" Joe asked, a little hopeful. Now that was a pairing he could get behind.

"No, Cisco has to stay with Hartley to keep up appearances with Luthor's company shareholders," Iris corrected. Her statement eliminated Joe's next guess, which had been Rathaway.

"Wally?" he asked, partly hopeful because he knew his son had been wanting to help out more, but also partly in dread due to him not wanting both of his sons to die out at sea.

"He has school, dad," she reminded with a roll of her eyes. None of them wanted to screw up Wally's education like that. And he and Barry were awkward enough towards each other as it was, they didn't need forced make out sessions and other couple things to add on top of that.

"Then who the hell is with Barry?!" Joe demanded desperately. He was so confused and worried at this point, and he was just about ready to ground Iris even though she didn't live in the house anymore.

"Leonard Snart," Iris finally admitted, and waited for the explosive anger. Instead, her father had collapsed onto a chair and looked devastated.

"Oh god, please tell me it's Oliver Queen on that ship with Barry and not who you just said," Joe cried. He'd take that man over Snart any day! Snart had hurt and betrayed them before and would probably do it again! But this time Barry wouldn't have back up when it happened!

"You didn't raise me to lie," Iris replied. She took pity on her dad though, and offered him the information pamphlet on Pacific Princess Cruises. She hoped the details provided might ease some of his worry.

Seeing the name of the cruise sparked something in Joe's mind, and it took him a moment to remember where he knew that name. Once he did, his distress from a minute ago vanished and was replaced with incredulous amusement.

He needed to make a few calls.

\----

Barry had never been on a boat before. He hadn't made out with a guy before either, yet a cruise felt more daunting. Perhaps this was due to him and Len having to go this entire mission alone? And for two weeks no less. They'd have to share a room. Share a bathroom. Share a bed. After their impromptu kissing session on the plane, Barry worried he wouldn't be able to control his curiosity and libido. And Len's response proved he probably wouldn't resist if Barry went that far.

Meanwhile, Len was as cool as a cucumber and walked with such confidence and finesse onto the ship that several heads turned to get a good look at him. The speedster felt like such a dork by comparison and could tell others agreed. He heard a few awe's from the people they passed, but most ignored him. He wasn't so sure how to feel about that.

Entering the lobby on deck four, Len told Barry to wait with their luggage while he got their room keys. Then, he was off to check them in. The reservation was under Scofield so it made sense that he do it. It didn't stop Barry from being nervous though, so he tried to distract himself and look around the place.

Aside from various other couples like he and Len coming aboard, Barry spotted a few small families walking by too, which surprised him. He hadn't really had a chance to look up what this cruise had to offer as far as activities go, so he speculated on what stuff there were for families to participate in.

Then, from the corner of his vision he saw a few men already clad in S&M gear and walking by without a care in the world. They weren't showing anything inappropriate, but that didn't stop a few kids from asking their parents what they were wearing. Barry had to bite his lip so he wouldn't laugh at one parent's attempt to close their child's eyes while the other tried to explain the clothing.

"If you think that's funny, check out the matching father-daughter over there," someone said beside him.

Barry turned to see an extremely handsome man that looked like he belonged on the covers of romance novels. He was tall with dark hair, tanned skin, warm, hazel green eyes hidden under a pair of square, black rimmed glasses, and a gorgeous smile. The speedster was still coming to grips with his sexuality at the moment, but damn this man was beautiful!

Reluctantly, he moved his attention to the people that had been pointed out to him, and couldn't help aweing at the adorable pair of a dad and daughter dressed as matching princesses.

"That is cute!" he gushed. He wondered if there was a matching costume contest going on, especially after spotting a few more parents in similar outfits to their children. It looked like it was going to be a fun event.

"I know right? Oh, I'm Clark Kent by the way," the man introduced himself after a somewhat awkward pause between them. It was only fair since he did just randomly approach Barry to start up a conversation.

"Barry Allen," Barry replied politely. He was a little concerned about why this man had spoken to him in the first place and hoped it wasn't to hit on him, because he didn't know if he'd be able to say no to any of his advances.

The speedster took a moment to remind himself that he was already here with a gorgeous man, and that he himself wasn't exactly a prize. Sure, he had a six pack and a cute face, but he couldn't assume everyone here would hit on him. So with that in mind, he tried to look at more than Clark's good looks and finally noticed the luggage at his side too. Was he in the same boat, waiting for his partner?

"First time on a cruise?" Clark asked curiously, interrupting Barry's observations.

"That obvious, huh?" Barry said. He hoped everything about him wasn't that easy to read, but knowing his luck he was probably an open book to everyone on board.

"It's fine, this is only my second time," Clark reassured. He gave a quick gaze to the clerk's desk before returning his attention to Barry and asking: "Waiting on someone too?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend, Len," Barry responded, internally feeling relieved. Clark's words implied that he did indeed have a partner, and Barry was glad to make it clear that he was 'taken.'

Meanwhile, at the check-in desk, Len patiently waited for Lex Luthor to finish signing in. He had spotted the man before Barry could notice, and didn't want to risk the speedster blowing their cover before it even began. They didn't need to bring negative attention to themselves by trying to engage the man in conversation right away. Interactions with him needed to be natural.

"I can take the next person," another clerk announced as they finished signing into their computer.

"I have a reservation, under Leonard Scofield," Len informed after quickly walking over. He heard a 'tch' beside him and gave Luthor a brief sideways glance before returning his full attention to the clerk in front of him. It was then a simple matter of providing his id, signing in, and taking the offered keys to mini-suite 8052.

It took less than five minutes, so he wasn't sure why the person serving Luthor was taking so long. Moving on for now, he went to retrieve Barry only to catch the speedster stammering away adorably as he spoke with another man in glasses. Said man was good looking, if one was into the traditional squared jaw, thick dark hair, and a golden smile.

"Barry, I have our keys," Len interrupted, and received a surprised but relieved smile from Barry.

"Oh, Len! This is Clark Kent, and Clark this is my boyfriend, Len," Barry introduced a bit awkwardly as he immediately stood by Len's side, nearly falling over in his haste.

"Leonard Scofield, pleasure to meet you," Len said calmly, wrapping his arm around the speedster's waist as a silent claim.

"The pleasure's all mine," Clark replied, still friendly and clearly not bothered by the display of possession he was being shown. He also seemed to sense Len's silent demand to not touch, as he didn't even offer his hand up to shake. So he was both good looking and smart, which made him dangerous.

"I'm afraid we're both quite tired from our flight this morning, so if you'll excuse us," Len replied politely, eager to get Barry away from this man. He was an unwanted distraction.

"Oh, that's more than fine! Get some rest and enjoy your vacation!" Clark said cheerfully, waving as they left.

Waving back before leaning his head on Len's shoulder, Barry sighed: "Thank you! For a second I thought I'd word vomit and say something embarrassing back there!"

"Did our kissing on the plane jar something loose or were you always so easy to fluster?" Len asked quietly as they walked through the hallways towards their room. They were on the eighth deck, so they'd have to take an elevator too.

"What?" Barry asked, suddenly feeling offended. There was a hint of something else in the other man's voice that made the question sound accusatory. Rather than start an argument over what could possibly be nothing in the middle of a crowd though, Barry waited till they were in their room and the door was closed.

"Alright, what exactly did you mean back there?" he questioned. Hopefully it had just been a tease, but the lack of a grin on Len's part told him it wasn't.

"Are you going to be distracted and flail about every time someone flirts with you?" Len said bluntly. If so, they had a problem.

"What? No! I just--I'm awkward, okay? I get really awkward around people I find attractive," Barry admitted. Were all of his actions and mistakes going to be questioned on this trip? If that was the case, this trip was going to be less than pleasant.

Len bit his lip, refraining from pointing out that Barry hadn't ever acted that way around him. Did that mean he found him less attractive? But he wasn't so bad looking to make out with?

He sighed before starting to unpack his luggage and got over himself. His interactions with Barry from the very beginning were different. They had met as enemies in high profile personas, so even if there had been an attraction from the younger man, he probably repressed and denied it.

Barry stood nearby, arms folded across his chest and wondering what the other man was thinking of or why he was so tense. What had he wanted to say but kept it in? He knew now of Len's tell of biting his lip. Was it possible he was upset that he had interacted with Clark? If so, why?

"I won't always be around to bail you out of awkward situations, so try to avoid Mr. Kent or anyone else like him," Len eventually said, proving without a doubt that he was bothered by Barry's encounter with Clark.

"Were you jealous?" Barry blurted out before he could think better of it. He figured that wasn't possible due to this being an undercover mission and that the other man didn't really care for him like that, but Len's not so subtle arm around his waist and the impertinent tone of his voice didn't make sense otherwise.

The fact that Len stood still for a second too long confirmed Barry's crackpot theory though, so he said: "Oh my god, you were jealous!"

"Hardly," Len finally muttered. It was pure denial on his part, but he didn't want his feelings on the matter to be known yet if at all.

"Then why are you acting like such a jerk?" Barry questioned. He knew better than to think that the other man was jealous of him giving Clark attention, because again, he wasn't really a prize. It hurt to be reminded of that fact, but he tried not to take it personally.

"I was...intimidated," Len eventually said in reply. It was partly true, as Kent presented quite the desired figure and usual charm most would dream to have.

"Okay, so how does that translate into you being a jerk with me?" Barry replied. He could certainly understand being intimidated by Clark, because it had been so difficult not to stutter and lose his cool when talking to him. But that wasn't an excuse to be an asshole.

Len remained silent as he tried to find a way to explain himself without sounding like an outright jealous boyfriend. This wasn't a real relationship, there was no reason to feel and react this way. If Barry had genuine interest in Kent, who was he to stop him?

"Look, we're partners, right? So you have to tell me what's going on if this partnership is going to work," Barry sighed, interrupting the other's thoughts. He had agreed on the plane to be more cooperative, so why couldn't Len?

"I don't like him. His smile is too disarming to be real, and he's smart enough to know he's attractive," Len listed off, stalling till he could find the right words.

"Okay, so that makes him a dangerous distraction, but he's just a regular guy? Well, as far as super models with great smiles go," Barry replied, mumbling the last part. He wasn't really sure if that was Clark's job, but he wouldn't be surprised if it was.

"He puts me on edge, and I get testy when that happens," Len admitted. It wasn't an outright lie, as he did often get snappy whenever a plan started to go south, something unexpected came up, or he was put into a situation he didn't like. It just wasn't the real reason for his behavior towards Barry in this instant.

"Alright, see? That wasn't so hard to admit, and I'll keep in mind next time it happens that you might be uncomfortable or upset. But don't expect me to just put up with it," Barry said firmly. Just then, his stomach rumbled loud enough for both of them to hear.

"Looks like room service and a nap are in order," Len teased, signature smirk back in place as the tension from before dissipated.

He had to remember what his sister had told him: this was an opportunity. Whether or not he took full advantage of it was up to him. And he knew that acting like some possessive jackass would hardly win him any favors. He needed to up his seduction game.

"Did you want breakfast or lunch?" Barry asked as he retrieved a menu. He was more than ready to drop their current argument for food instead, and a nap sounded like a great idea. He hadn't had much sleep the night before, and they had been so busy quizzing each other on the plane that he didn't rest at all.

"If they have it, chocolate chip waffle, chocolate milk, bacon, extra crispy, and eggs scrambled with cheese," Len answered, and finished unloading his suitcase while Barry made the call.

"Alright, they said it'll take about thirty minutes," Barry said once he was done. He watched the other man unpack for a second before using his super speed to put everything away, which earned him a glare from Len and prompted him to ask: "What? I didn't wrinkle anything!"

"It's cheating and reckless. There could have been security cameras in this room," Len pointed out. There was no reason for them technically, but it was still a valid point.

"Hartley already told me they only have security cameras set up in the main public areas. So we're good. Don't worry, I won't use them outside of this room," Barry replied before holding up five distinct packages wrapped in red paper. His expression clearly asked for an explanation.

"Those are gifts that will be given and opened during the trip," Len explained calmly, tempted to sit on the bed, which looked comfortable. They had food on the way though, so he opted to wait and sit out on their balcony to let the light from outside keep him awake. Florida was so damn bright.

"Are they for me?" Barry asked, following after him, and putting the gifts on the other dining table they had next to the bed before joining Len outside.

"Yes, and before you ask, yes, the numbers are the order I'm going to give them to you," Len replied, scrunching his face until his transitions lenses adapted to the brightness. He was pleased he had gone with Ms. Smoak's advice and chose these over regular glasses. Barry thought the face he had made was adorable and so normal.

"Do I really have to wait to open them?? I mean, I won't be surprised when you give them to me, which was the point, right?" Barry said, eager to open them now. He couldn't remember ever being given a gift by someone he was dating. And despite this relationship being entirely fake, it didn't stop the speedster from finding the gesture romantic and sweet.

"True, but where's the fun in letting you open them up now?" Len teased. They were an intricate part of his plan to seduce the hero into turning this fake relationship real after all. He couldn't give it all up now. The gifts would hardly mean anything then.

"Seriously? You want to turn this into a game?" Barry asked, not really annoyed as much as he should be by the prospect of this becoming a challenge. He could always rely on Captain Cold to challenge him, so why would Len be any different? Deciding to just go with it, he asked, "Alright, what are the stakes?"

"Five gifts, five tasks, once you've completed a task, you can open a gift," Len said. He was glad Barry was perceptive enough to understand his ploy and was willing to go along with it. It would have been far too boring to simply deny the gifts until the appropriate times.

"Okay, what are the tasks?" Barry questioned. He had a feeling he wouldn't be able to get them all done in one day, let alone an hour, but he held out hope that the tasks would be easy.

"Don't know yet," Len shrugged, answering honestly. He was improvising as far as this game went and aimed to make each task a step that brought Barry closer to him.

"Aw, c'mon!" the speedster whined. When that earned him nothing, he attempted what Iris dubbed his 'puppy dog eyes.' He hated using it, but he really wanted to get started on these tasks.

"Fine, seduce me before the food arrives in the next thirteen minutes, and you can open the first gift," Len said, taking pity on Barry, not falling for the eyes. He smirked as the speedster's face lit up in a flush once again.

Brain having short circuited for a second or two, as he hadn't expected that type of request, Barry found himself wondering what he had just agreed to. This relationship was supposed to be fake, but here was his ex-nemesis adding complications that would be far more distracting than his earlier encounter with Clark. What exactly did Len expect to gain from this?

"Tick, tock, Barry," Len reminded, one minute having gone by. A normal person would require at least a few minutes to gather what confidence they needed to try and seduce someone, but this was the Flash; he had to do everything fast. The longer he took, however, the less confident Len felt that his suggestion had been wise.

Then, before Len could play it off as a joke, Barry went down on his knees in front of him, and pulled a hand towards his mouth.

Barry found Len's hands fascinating, knowing what they were capable of, how much care probably went into them, but he didn't want to go the obvious obscene route and suck them into his mouth. Not yet anyway. So for now he simply kissed the top of Len's hand, before moving up and to Len's face. He stared intently into the other man's eyes, seeing flecks of gray hidden among the blue. Next, he moved just an inch higher so he could kiss Len's forehead. Then, his nose, his cheeks, the point where his jaw started underneath his ear, and finally Len's neck.

By this point, he was seated in Len's lap, and casually grinding his hips against the other man's, all the while, Len kept his hands to himself. Though unspoken, they both knew that once he touched Barry, it meant the speedster won this round. So he tried rubbing one of his hands at the back of Len's head gently before tugging it and nibbling at Len's ear. It earned him a light gasp, but still no hand. He moved his mouth back to kissing along Len's jawline, nipping it a few times but leaving no marks for now.

It wasn't until one of his hands trailed down to feel up Len's chest under the sweater and buttoned shirt that he finally received the reaction he wanted as Len grabbed his arm. Instead of getting off to open up the first gift, Barry finally gave into the temptation to kiss Len's mouth, swallowing his moan as he tweaked the other man's nipple. Len's free hand was no longer idle either as it slid into Barry's pants to grope his ass.

If it hadn't been for the knock on the door indicating that room service was there with their food, Barry was fairly sure he would've fucked Len right then and there. Maybe something had been jarred loose after their kiss on the plane? Almost like a switch that turned their usual tension into something else. The speedster wasn't sure what was coming over him to suddenly be okay with doing this, whatever this is, with Leonard Snart of all people. It was certainly turning out to be more than pretending.

It wasn't until after their food was on the balcony table that Barry remembered to open the first gift. He was torn between groaning and laughing when he discovered it was a blue vibrator, batteries included.

"I thought something silly would work as an ice-breaker," Len explained, pun totally intended, and finally earning that groan from the speedster.

Barry was tempted to point out that he himself could vibrate any part of his body for probably longer and stronger than any sex toy, but he had a feeling that was a surprise best saved for later. He was also starving and wanted to start in on his meal which included both breakfast and lunch items. So the two of them began eating quietly.

"We should go over and create an itinerary for this trip. Find out which activities and places Luthor and his beau frequent, then adjust so we interact with them as much as possible without looking suspicious," Len said when they were nearly done eating.

Barry retrieved the pamphlets Len had been given at the check-in desk and started reading through them as he continued eating. He had been right to assume there were competitions for families to participate in, but he very much doubted they'd see Luthor attending those. Unless he managed to adopt a kid recently and kept them even more under wraps than the identity of his boyfriend.

"What would an evil billionaire like to do on a cruise?" he wound up asking after speed reading through the information. None of the activities stood out to him as something Luthor would do.

"Depends on his beau. According to Ms. Smoak's files, he tends to spoil his lovers," Len replied, sitting back with a full stomach and empty plate. He was definitely ready for a nap, but wasn't in the mood to move just yet.

"So basically we're just guessing and hoping to bump into them?" Barry asked skeptically. He received a nod in reply and sighed, "Okay, so for now we're treating this like an ordinary vacation, and doing whatever we want to, so what would you like to do?"

"Nap," Len said bluntly.

"I know that, I mean after our nap. What did you want to do? They've got a casino where you can drink and gamble," Barry suggested, hurrying up with the rest of his food, but not so fast as to choke on it, because he wanted to rest as well. He also nabbed a pen so he could mark down and make notes on their pamphlets.

"That can be done anywhere, Scarlet, and same with clubbing," Len replied, not liking the implication that those activities were all he did outside of crime. He only gambled when he needed to scrape up some extra cash, but he'd been given a credit card by Rathaway for any additional expenses they may encounter such as food, clothing, and toiletries.

"They have dance lessons?" Barry suggested next, his tone reluctant. He'd always wanted to learn, but never really had the time to and was afraid he'd be too bad at it. There had also been the hope that Iris would be the one he learned it with, but that ship had sailed.

"Pick one and we'll sign up for it tomorrow," Len said, taking off his shoes. He had waited till the speedster was done eating before getting up, shoes in hand, and heading back inside to their bed. He already had some dancing skills up his sleeve, but found no reason to reject a chance to be pressed up close to Barry.

Speaking of, the speedster followed after him once again, still reading over the pamphlet in his hands before finally selecting and marking down something. Len would find out what it was later, because the bed was calling to him and he needed to lose a few clothes if he was going to rest properly. He set aside his shoes, put his fake glasses on the table, and began undressing.

First, went the blazer and sweater as Florida weather proved way too damn hot for both. Then, the loosening and removal of his tie which he took his time on in case someone was watching. But Barry didn't notice until he heard the distinct sound of Len loosening his belt buckle that the other man was undressing. Len was tempted to whip it off, but decided to save that trick for when Barry was more wanting. Next came his pants, which required him to bend over and earned him a distinct cough. He didn't need to look to know the other was blushing.

"Don't know about you, but I don't sleep well in a full 3-piece suit," Len said, folding and putting away the pants. He grabbed a pair of shorts and sandals to put on for later along with another buttoned shirt. He'd sleep in the one he currently had on, as it served to cover up certain things on his chest and back that he didn't want Barry to see.

Done undressing, Len finally laid on the bed and didn't bother holding back his moan of enjoyment as he discovered it was as soft as it looked. He closed his eyes, heard a whoosh from Barry and felt the bed dip as he joined him on the bed.

Barry knew he shouldn't feel embarrassed for staring as Len obviously wanted him to, but he still did and adamantly tried to avoid looking at Len's crotch which was covered in a white colored, boxer-briefed package. They were practically see-through for crying out loud! The buttoned shirt barely acting as a concealer.

Fortunately, Barry was far too drowsy to become aroused at this time and simply undressed to his undershirt, socks, and underwear before getting onto the bed himself. He realized the moan Len gave wasn't an exaggeration as the bed did feel luxurious and elicited a pleased sigh from him.

Sleep claimed them within minutes.

\----

When he next woke up roughly two hours later, Barry found that they had both moved from their previous positions of laying on their backs apart from each other, into a cuddled position. Len's head was snuggled into his chest, his arms loosely wrapped around him with his hands at the small of his back, one hand's fingers nearly dipping into the crease of his butt. Barry's own arms were around Len too, but rested in the middle of the man's back with a tighter grip.

"You pulled me into your arms like a teddy bear, Scarlet," Len said, eyes closed but clearly awake. What he didn't mention was the fact that he had gotten cold and turned towards the next available heat source, which had been Barry, and inevitably got grabbed as an impromptu blanket. Not that he would complain about having his nose pressed up against Barry's chest, which smelled really good, or the impromptu kisses he had been given on the top of his head.

"Should we get up and explore the boat?" Barry asked instead of reacting to the teasing. He hadn't let go of the other man though, because if Len didn't feel bothered by it, why should he?

"Too comfortable, besides, we have an itinerary to plan, remember?" Len said, stretching a bit and using it as an excuse to rub his body against Barry's. It earned him a gasp as the only barriers between them were their underwear.

"Well the only things I really want to do are eat, swim, and learn some dancing," Barry eventually admitted after catching his breath and making sure he wasn't hard.

"Fine, I'll come up with our schedule," Len replied, taking the initiative to roll out of their embrace first. He had felt way too tempted to start something he knew Barry wasn't ready for. They also had Luthor to contend with on this trip and he wasn't going to go unprepared for that.

Len retrieved the laptop they had brought with them and booted it up. He'd check in with the rest of their group to update them and find out if they had any new information to provide such as Luthor's mystery boyfriend.

Unsure of what he should be doing, Barry got up from the bed as well and retrieved his swimming trunks and a beach towel. He hadn't been kidding about wanting to swim as he couldn't remember the last time he had done so for recreational purposes. Using his super speed, he changed to his swimwear and prepared to leave the room.

"Gonna go for a swim," he announced and waited for Len to reply 'alright' before exiting their mini-suite. Checking his watch, he realized it was the middle of the afternoon and the boat had already left the harbor. He was glad to find out that he wasn't getting seasick as Dramamine wouldn't really affect him.

Then, he paused, because he wasn't sure where the pool area was supposed to be and he didn't want to waste time getting lost. But before he could re-enter the suite and to the inevitable teasing from Len, he heard someone calling out his name. When he looked in the direction it came from he was startled to find Clark Kent coming his way, and coincidentally wearing swim trunks too, along with a loose fitted t-shirt.

"Clark! Hey, uh-- you're-- I mean you're obviously-- do you happen to know where the pool area is?" Barry fumbled in greeting, earning a small chuckle from the other man. He found it was a scary coincidence that he should meet this man again, especially after agreeing with Len that he was a distraction. Knowing his luck though, Barry had a feeling meeting this man would prove to be important later on.

"Yes, it's on the ninth floor along with barbecue and a pizzeria. Oh, and the spa, where my boyfriend intends to go either today or tomorrow," Clark replied, the last part of his statement said in a fond but exasperated tone. Clark's boyfriend obviously enjoyed being pampered.

"Oh, well, lead the way," Barry replied and walked along with Clark to the elevator.

Sure enough, the first thing he smelled was fresh barbecue in the air. He definitely wanted some of that after a few laps in the pool, which proved not to be too crowded as only a few children were splashing about in the shallow end. He followed after Clark and placed his things on one of the deck chairs before removing his shirt. He noted the other man was doing the same, but he chose to concentrate on getting into the cool water and out of the heat as he jumped in feet first.

Barry took a moment to fully dunk himself in the water so he'd get over the temperature difference faster, and when he rose back up he wasn't too surprised to find Clark had done the same. What was this man's angle exactly?

"Wanna race?" Clark suggested before Barry could question his intentions. The pool wasn't particularly big enough for a long race, but the speedster found himself agreeing to it, wanting to give the man the benefit of the doubt.

Meanwhile, Len had finished emailing the rest of team Flash along with his Rogues, washed up, redressed, and headed out of the mini-suite to explore the rest of the ship. Unlike Barry, he had already memorized the map provided in the pamphlets, so he knew what floor he'd find the speedster. For now he just wanted to canvas the ship and familiarize himself with it in case he had to.

Upon exiting, he immediately noticed Luthor coming out of the larger suite at the end of the hall to his left. Keeping calm, he walked away towards the elevators in hopes that he wasn't noticed yet. By the time he got there though, they were both occupied with way too many people, so he had to wait till it was emptied. Technically, there were another set of elevators he could try, but avoidance could be just as obvious as being overly friendly.

Len would have to settle for standing next to their target once again, along with a little girl in a Little Mermaid bathing suit and her mother. She looked up at him blankly, but smiled after he gave one of his own to her. He would always have a soft spot for kids. A few other people gathered behind him, but his attention was on which elevator Luthor planned to get on. The one going up or the one going down?

The elevator going up finally arrived after a few minutes, and going on instinct, Len followed after the little girl. He held open the door for a few others and was pleased to note his instincts were correct on which elevator Luthor had wanted. He'd have to patrol the ship later, because he wasn't going to risk Barry spotting the billionaire, panicking, and trying to handle the mission on his own. Plus, Luthor might be going up to see his beau, and they needed to know who that was.

"Safe to assume we're all going to deck nine?" he asked the group at large, being the one right next to the buttons, and earning a few chuckles and affirmations. He pressed the appropriate button and waited. His goal was to find Barry as soon as possible and get this ball rolling.

Doing so proved to be easy as the little girl and her mother lead the way to the pool, and there were only two adult men currently using it along with a few other kids. One of them was clearly Barry, but the other was unknown. Len had a feeling he wouldn't like whoever it was that was racing the speedster.

"Barry," he called out after locating the chair with Barry's stuff on it. He grabbed and unfolded the towel so the other would understand it was time to get out.

At first, the speedster didn't notice him as he was too caught up in racing against the other man, but once Barry did spot Len during one of their turns his competition was able to use his moment of confusion to claim victory. Said victor proved to be none other than Clark 'annoyingly handsome' Kent.

"Hey, that doesn't count, I was distracted at the last second," Barry claimed once he realized he had lost, but he was already swimming towards Len. Understanding without words that something was probably up, otherwise why would his partner interrupt a harmless swim competition?

"Rematch tomorrow then?" Clark offered, staying in the pool and giving Len a polite nod of acknowledgement.

"Um, I don't know, I think, uh, Len and I have plans," Barry tried to lie as he got out of the water. He should've said no to the swimming contest, but then it would've been awkward just floating around in the pool doing nothing but awkward small talk. And it wasn't like he could outright tell the guy off since they were on the same floor and would probably bump into each other again more often than not. Additionally, the man hadn't done anything to warrant being told off, he was just an unwanted distraction.

Meanwhile, Len took the time to appreciate his brief viewing of Barry's body as the water dripped along his lean, cut torso, a few freckles and moles standing out like a small mapping of stars. His swim trunks looked about ready to fall off too, they barely fit Barry's trim waist. Feeling both possessive and impulsive, Len was more than happy to wrap the speedster up in both the towel and his arms, pulling him in close and kissing him tenderly. They were in public view, so Barry hid his surprise, if he had any, really well before ducking his head and leaning it against Len's shoulder.

"Don't be mad, but Clark is staying on our floor and spotted me, so um, yeah," Barry explained quietly. He hoped the implication that he hadn't wanted to be rude and completely rebuff the man or cause a scene was clear. Last thing they needed were any misunderstandings.

"I think he's caught the hint," Len whispered in return, smirking as if he was saying something dirty rather than mundane. The affectionate display hadn't been just for his benefit, but a way to explain without a doubt to Mr. Kent why they were on this cruise to start with. Pure, unadulterated sex. Alright, and some romance, but mostly sex if Len had any say.

"Ooh, okay, well, if said 'plans' have a break in between..." Clark replied, understanding their meaning without further input. Why was this man so insistent? Len was just about ready to screw decorum and tell him to fuck off.

"Clark, I understand you're bored, but please don't bother other couples," a man said from the opposite side of the pool. Both Len and Barry turned to see who it was and were stunned to see Lex Luthor standing there.

Len felt like such an idiot, because of course Clark Kent was Lex Luthor's boyfriend! He had tanned skin, dark hair and hazel green eyes! The exact physical qualities of just about all of Luthor's murdering ex-wives! Len had been so engrossed with his intentions towards Barry that he was making rookie mistakes. Something needed to be done about them, but now was not the time.

Fortunately, he was adaptable and recovered quickly enough to say, "On the contrary, I'm glad Mr. Kent was able to keep my Barry company. I had work to deal with."

"See, Lex? I wasn't bothering anybody," Clark added, finally getting out of the pool to retrieve his towel.

Since getting his powers, Barry didn't get insecure as often as he used to, but watching Clark Kent exit the water with perfectly golden skin, muscle definition he only ever saw in comic books, and not a single damn blemish or stretch mark had him feeling like an awkward teenager again. And it wasn't until he felt Len push his chin up that he realized he'd been gaping with his mouth open. So embarrassing!

"I'm sure the two of you will have time tomorrow for a rematch, but for now I'm stealing Barry away," Len said as the other man dried up. He observed that Luthor was coming their way and hoped to leave before they were forced into conversation with him, because Barry was obviously not ready to deal with this just yet.

"Okay, you two skedaddle and have fun," Clark teased and turned his attentions to his approaching lover.

Skedaddle? Who the hell used that word? Either way, Len grabbed Barry's remaining things and hustled him towards the elevators. They needed to confer with the rest of their teams pronto.

"Wait, there's a barbecue place I wanted to try out," Barry managed to say before they reached their destination.

"Alright, Scarlet, we'll get some to go," Len replied, figuring the speedster had probably worked up an appetite swimming earlier. From what he had been able to see, the two of them had been neck and neck and their pacing looked brutal. He knew Barry had to hold back to some extent, but the fact that Kent was able to maintain his pace and got out of the pool with such ease showcased his prowess as an athlete. Research needed to be done about this man.

Forty minutes later, they were back in their suite with a dozen ribs, four pulled pork sandwiches, four chili dogs, cornbread, and two large lemonades. Len could feel the heartburn already starting and was relieved he had the forethought to pack something for it. He set to getting the laptop and emailing their latest intel.

"Sorry, didn't realize how hungry I was until we got in line," Barry said as he set up their food on the balcony table. He'd eat the majority of it, but portioned it out so Len was able to sample one of each item. Well, three in the case of the ribs.

"It's fine. Surprised you were able to race with how small that pool was, especially with kids in it too," Len remarked. He remembered seeing the Little Mermaid girl sitting on the edge with her feet in the water watching the two men as they raced, her pout indicating she had wanted to get in but had to wait for them to be out of the way. She had squealed loudly in delight once Barry had gotten out.

"Oh, well we had to restart a few times cause a kid or two would get in the way, but it wasn't too much of a problem. I think, since it's obvious I'll have to spend more time around Clark now, that if we're going to rematch, it should be early in the morning while most kids are sleeping," Barry replied and sat down to eat.

Len was about to say he knew there had been something off about Kent when he received an instant message from Ms. Smoak. Then, a request to talk via Skype call. He accepted it and brought it over to the balcony so she could see both of them.

"Hey Felicity," Barry greeted cheerfully, sitting down to start eating.

"Hey Barry, and whoa, that's a lot of ribs," she replied, getting a full view of their food too.

"Do you have something to tell us?" Len asked, preventing either of them from going into a tangent. He swore these two were like easily distracted puppies.

"Oh right, Luthor's boyfriend, um, so far his records show that he's from Smallville, Kansas, was adopted by a Jonathan and Martha Kent at around age two, and was kind of a local hero. According to this newspaper clipping from their high school newspaper he saved Luthor from drowning after he ran his car off of a bridge. He's saved a lot of people from fires too," Felicity started to list off. The first fact wasn't a surprise in the least, but the adoption angle peaked Len's interest. So he asked for more details on it.

"Huh, the adoption agency that handled everything only ever had one adoption, which was his before mysteriously closing down," Felicity started to mumble and typed away furiously. When she finally stopped she asked, "Hey, Barry, ever hear about a meteor shower hitting a small town?"

"Yeah, and I remember looking into it, because of the rumors that the meteor rocks were giving people super powers, but no one was ever clear on what town it was and often said it was just made up to make that town famous," Barry replied after putting down the current chili dog he was eating. He hadn't been kidding about being famished.

"Let me guess, Smallville is this town, and the rumors which are true were covered up," Len said more than asked, he was letting the Nexium he just took a few minutes to settle before he ate.

"Yep, in fact, there's a pretty heavy firewall blocking most of the information I've been looking into, but I cracked it. And wow, Luthor was a redhead," Felicity blurted and sent the image for them to download and see.

"No wonder he goes bald," Len remarked after viewing the image. It made his hair from high school look tame.

"It wasn't by choice actually, he was there when the meteors hit and that's how he lost his hair. He physically can't grow it back. A few days after that, Clark Kent was officially adopted. I'll bet you anything his adoption is related to the meteor shower," Felicity corrected and started typing away again. She was on a lead and didn't intend to let it go.

"Okay, you need to let Iris know about this so they have a heads up on what to look out for," Barry said, knowing there wasn't much he or Len could do about this information. It wasn't really appropriate small talk, though it did put certain things into perspective. Clark and Luthor had a history together that probably dated back to the day of the meteor shower.

Was it possible that Clark was affected by the rocks and had powers? Did Luthor have powers? Is that how he survived so many murder attempts?

"Is there anything else we should be made aware of about Mr. Kent?" Len asked, wanting to make sure they knew what they needed to move forward.

There was more typing before she answered with: "He currently works as a reporter for the Daily Planet, which so happens to have Luthor as one of its benefactors."

"So their lives are tied in more ways than one," Len stated and finally gave attention to his food. He let Barry end the conversation with Ms. Smoak before turning the laptop back off. Neither noticing a new email come up from Joe West.

"You look worried, Scarlet," Len said as he bit into his pulled pork sandwich. It was as greasy as he expected along with the barbecue sauce, but savory and sweet. Mick would've loved it.

"With what we know now, I can't help but think that Clark is a meta-human. I mean, he's physically perfect, but it's almost unreal," Barry replied unsure. He doubted the lack of blemishes were an actual power though, just a side effect.

"I noticed. Not a single mark, freckle or scar," Len said in agreement. It was too perfect for his tastes as he remembered the sight of Barry's freckles. He wanted to explore and see how many he could find. He bit into his sandwich to hide what he was thinking at the moment. There was a time and place for everything after all.

"And now that I think about it, while we were swimming, I couldn't help but notice he didn't take a breath as often as a normal person would. Almost like he didn't have to breathe as much as I needed to," Barry added, his worry clear and for a valid reason. If Clark was able to exert himself for lengthy amounts of time at a steady pace without needing to breathe, he was certainly more than human. Or an exceedingly good swimmer.

"Alright, tomorrow morning, let's say around eight am, you're going to knock on their room door, which should be suite 8064, and invite him for a rematch. That way you can confirm what you saw today," Len suggested, though it sounded more like an order. He had no doubt what Barry saw was true, but it didn't hurt to make sure. Right now they were only theorizing.

"Okay, but what about Luthor? How are we going to handle him? I doubt he'll just let me take up his boyfriend's time," Barry pointed out. He had no problem with following Len's plans as they often worked, unless they were against the Flash of course.

"Hm, I guess I'll have to come along then, in case he wants to support his beau. Keep him from asking you probing questions," Len replied. If the data Ms. Smoak had given them was accurate, Luthor was a very paranoid man and for good reason.

"Both of them are going to be asking probing questions, I mean, Clark's a reporter like Iris!" Barry couldn't help but complain. And if Clark was as good as his best friend at her job, the speedster was doomed.

"So stick to the backstory your little friends came up with," Len said firmly. He bit into his food a few more times before adding: "After we eat, we're going to 'explore' the ship together. Get a general layout."

"And see which areas Luthor and Clark will probably frequent?" Barry said, assuming that was the goal. He received a nod and returned to his meal, reminding himself that this wasn't an actual vacation but an assignment to investigate a possible kidnapper.

Len could tell the speedster was now preoccupied with both stress and worry, both of which were not conducive to a successful mission. Remembering the gifts and the extra challenge he'd offered, he said: "I have another task for you."

After being given a curious look he explained: "If you can manage to introduce me properly as your boyfriend to another couple, you can open the second gift."

It was a small thing, but Len wanted to hear Barry call him his. The one time he did it in front of Clark didn't really count in his opinion. And this way it would give them the appearance of a normally social couple and not one with the intent to only get to know Luthor.

"Okay, when you say properly, what do you mean?" Barry questioned, eager to get this next task done. He was suddenly grateful that his former nemesis had thought to come up with this challenge as it made this trip a little more fun.

"They ask or start the introductions first, and you give them my full name," Len clarified. It would be his fake name, but he wouldn't concentrate on that detail.

"Well then finish your food! We got exploring to do and people to meet," Barry said, his mood uplifted. And even more so once he got to the ribs.

Len did as told, secretly smiling at the fact that he had caused some of the speedster's current happiness.

\----

Finding other couples wasn't an issue as they were just about everywhere on the ship. Finding an excuse to strike conversation with them was another issue entirely. Barry was socially awkward to begin with, and Len wasn't of any help as he simply smirked and continued to hold his hand while they canvased the ship.

They started on the fourth floor back at the service desk where Len proceeded to ask generic questions such as which activities were the most recommended for couples to participate in, upcoming contests, and where to sign up for them. Next, a quick trip to the medical center to see what all they carried as far as medicine went, as well as some teasing over what else they kept in stock.

Yet when Len legitimately asked for and received a bag of condoms, Barry couldn't help wanting the day to end so they could get in bed already. Why else would the other man get them?

Their next stop was deck five which had the casino and club area. It also featured a photo gallery which piqued Barry's interest. He hoped they could get a few photos in before they left. Walking past the casino area, they found two shops, one with generic souvenirs and treats for kids and the other with all types of S&M gear, dresses, wigs, make up, shoes, lingerie, and some costumes. They sectioned things off appropriately, but Barry wasn't too bothered as he browsed out of curiosity while Len bought lube. He needed a distraction and some of the outfits were outrageous to look at.

Seeing the other casually looking at some of the dresses they had for either sale or rent gave Len ideas for future tasks and fun. He'd mention the idea of it later though, to see the speedster's reaction to them. If he was too uncomfortable with the thought of cross-dressing, Len wouldn't push. So for now he simply finished his shopping and tried to move them along back to the elevators.

He didn't count on Clark Kent suddenly appearing out of nowhere and looking at dresses along with Barry though. And from what he could see, the speedster hadn't expected it either and was sputtering up a response.

"Mr. Kent, it's a pleasure to see you again," Len said smoothly as he stood next to Barry and took one of his hands into his own.

"Hi, um, Len, was it?" Clark replied, sounding unsure on whether or not it was appropriate for him to use the nickname.

"Leonard Scofield, but Leonard will suffice," Len provided in response, implying only Barry could get away with the nickname.

"Ah, Leonard, okay, well, I'd ask what happened to your 'plans' together but judging from that bag in your hand, I think it's safe of me to assume what happened," Clark teased and proving that he was quite the observant individual.

"Indeed, we both assumed the other would pack what we needed, but fortunately the medical center has a large stock of supplies," Len replied, going along with the idea rather than come up with a different lie. He wondered where Luthor was though, so he asked: "Is everything alright with you and your boyfriend? I don't see him around."

"Oh, uh, he's working right now, and I thought I'd explore when I saw Barry. In fact, I was just asking if he was going to be in the drag queen contest they're going to have this Friday," Clark explained, being quite vague about his boyfriend's whereabouts. Clearly hiding something as he acted a lot like Barry whenever he tried to lie. Perhaps there was trouble in paradise?

"And I don't think I can, because I've never done it before," Barry finally spoke up, having been leaning against Len's side this entire time. He hoped in time to get over these nerves, but he hadn't expected to encounter Clark again so soon. And now knowing he was dating their target made Barry feel even more intimidated.

"How fortunate that I have then, if you want to, I can help you out," Len admitted with a soft smile. From the sounds of it, Barry wasn't opposed to the idea, simply fearful of doing a terrible job of it.

"For real? I mean-- you-- what?" Barry said, taken by surprise yet again and wondering whether or not Len was telling him the truth or simply trying to placate him or play up their part as a couple.

"If you find that hard to believe, imagine Mick in drag," Len mentioned, and was not disappointed as a look of horror graced Barry's face, which prompted him to laugh.

Clark looked like he was about to ask who Mick was when he received a text message and said as he hastened away: "Ah, looks like I'm being summoned. See you two later."

Whatever was in the message had him leaving in a hurry, which left Len to theorize that he was either being offered sex, or there was an emergency going on with Luthor. Exactly what was that man working on that had him so busy and leaving his beau put out enough that he was willingly bothering them and making their mission easier?

"Have you really done the drag queen thing, or were you just making that up?" Barry asked quietly once they were alone, interrupting Len's thoughts. The speedster wasn't sure at the moment why, but the thought of Len lying about something like that upset him.

"Let's just say I've done it often and well enough that I've won money," Len replied, remembering the heist that had led him to learning how to properly cross-dress. His first attempt, which had only been done to avoid the cops, was just him in a dress and a wig. He got caught, but by the head queen at the time, whom of which took pity on him and taught him the basics of drag queen make up. Of course he continued to use these skills to hide away from the cops, but on the occasion money was on the line, he'd compete.

"You can win money doing that?" Barry asked, honestly surprised, and now eager to know more of Len's past with cross-dressing. There was absolutely no record of him ever doing it, and Lisa hadn't mentioned it at all. Did she even know about it?

"Yes, in fact, the most I've won was fifteen-hundred. Mick's highest was eight-hundred," Len said as he led them back to the elevators. They still had a few more places to see before they could call it a night. He didn't object to answering Barry's questions about his drag queen days along the way though as it had been an interesting time, mostly in the 90's.

"Oh, so there's probably no digital record of this at all, huh?" Barry said more than asked as they wondered onto the ninth deck again. The floors between five and nine were all guest rooms, so they were forgoing those levels. It wasn't like they knew of anyone else on this ship aside from their target and his bored boyfriend.

"Only pictures on a bar wall," Len replied as they walked by the pool once again. It currently had no occupants as the sun was setting, making the sky varying shades of pink and orange. An evening swim or a soak in the hot tub didn't sound like a bad idea for another time. Depending on whether or not Len's romantic plans were successful.

They moved on for now though, checking out the beauty salon and spa much to Barry's chagrin. He took the opportunity to mention Clark's earlier statement about Luthor's intent to getting pampered, so Len filed the information away to use later. He also took note of the speedster's interest in the gym, and realized Barry was looking for an outlet to handle his excess energy. He couldn't exactly leave the ship or use his speed outside of their room, so his energy levels were probably through the roof by now. Luckily, there was a sign on the door explaining that it was open 24/7, so if Barry really needed to he could go in and work off that energy, if he didn't apply it to Len first.

"I believe deck ten is where they have the dance lessons, as well as a steakhouse and library," Len informed as they made their way towards a set of stairs. He was tired of waiting around on elevators and could tell Barry was too.

"Steak for dinner sounds awesome," Barry replied, never one to pass up a good meal. He never heard of a boat having a library though and was curious to see it and what it had to offer.

"We're closer to the dance floor, so let's sign up for classes first," Len said as they went up the stairs. He had a feeling spots for that would go by quickly as there was only so much room for couples to dance on. And he wound up being right as there were only three spots left when he signed them up for the waltz which was taught on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

He recognized Luthor and Clark's names on the same list, and thought what a lovely coincidence that was. Well, it was a little coincidental, but he wasn't going to question their luck on this front. For a second he thought he recognized another name on the list, but ignored it due to Barry whining about books and steak.

It turned out that other people had the same idea of having steak for dinner, so much so there was even a line to reserve a table. Len volunteered to sign them up for one while Barry waited in the library.

The library itself wasn't all that big, but Barry enjoyed perusing the books on the shelves none-the-less as it beat standing still in a boring line. After fifteen minutes though, his enjoyment turned into restlessness. So he picked up random books to read the back of their summaries. There was a lot more gay fiction than he thought.

"Allen, is that you?" a scarily familiar voice said behind him. Out of all the cruises in the world, what were the odds that the person behind him was whom he thought it was?

Turning around slowly, Barry gasped in disbelief: "Captain Singh?!" Because of course his boss would happen to be on the exact same gay cruise as he and Len!

The two of them stood awkwardly in front of each other a moment before David moved to stand next to Barry and muttered quietly: "Joe contacted me at the help desk."

"Sir, I can explain," Barry tried to apologize, keeping his voice down as well. The library wasn't particularly crowded, but why risk the chance of someone overhearing and it getting back to Luthor somehow?

"He already told me everything I needed to know. I just wanted to be clear that I'm on my honeymoon, Allen. I have no intention of getting involved with your 'mission' unless I absolutely have to, are we clear?" David asserted. He came onto this cruise to enjoy time with his husband, not to work and stress over whether or not he was on a boat with super villains.

"Yes sir, but uh, what do you mean by everything you need to know...?" Barry asked, wondering just how much Joe had told their boss. Did he know he was the Flash?

"I'm well aware of who your partner is, which by the way what the hell were you thinking working along with somebody like him?!" David demanded. He was a lot like Joe in regards to Barry's safety and well being as he watched him grow up just like the rest of the cops at the precinct.

"He was thinking that he had few options and that it takes a bad man, to catch a bad man," Len said, appearing by Barry's side. He proceeded to wrap an arm around the speedster's waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which only served to piss off David even more and embarrass Barry to no end.

"Hello, Captain, nice to see you around, enjoying your honeymoon so far?" Len asked cordially, but his usual smirk made his words sound more like a tease.

David had some very choice words he wanted to say to Snart's face, but his husband just so happened to find them and greeted: "David! I just finished setting up our appointment at the salon and made sure we were signed up for dance lessons. Did you reserve a table for us at the steakhouse?"

"Um, about that, sweetie, I, um," David started to say, obviously having not done it yet. Rob's face morphed from serene to unimpressed instantly.

"What he's trying to say is that you'll be sharing a table with us, and our table will be ready in thirty minutes," Len lied smoothly. When he was waiting in line he finally realized where he had recognized the name Singh on the sign up sheet for dance lessons. He knew it was only a matter of time before they ran into him, and this way they could nip any potential issues in the bud.

"Oh, you're Allen! You work with David at CCPD, right?" Rob said after getting over his confusion and recognizing Barry. They hadn't interacted much, but the numerous complaints his husband had about his CSI made him memorable.

"Uh, it's Barry, and yeah, that's right, I work with-- with Captain Singh," Barry replied nervously. He wasn't quite sure what to do, and Len had practically invited them to share dinner with them! What was he thinking?!

"Oh, please, Barry, you're off of work, so you can call him David. And who's this handsome gentleman?" Rob said as he didn't want Barry to be intimidated by them. He knew his husband could be quite gruff, but they were all on vacation, and he should show support for his employees, especially ones who were barely coming out as it was obvious Barry was new to dating men. Why else would he be so embarrassed to be caught by his boss with one?

"Oh! Um, this is-- this is my boyfriend, Leonard Scofield," Barry introduced, realizing he finally had the chance to complete the second task, and relieved he hadn't messed up the last name. His sense of accomplishment didn't last long though, because now there was dinner and small talk to get through.

\----

An exasperating hour and a half later, Len and Barry finally returned to their suite for the night. The speedster flopping onto the bed, emotionally exhausted and weary. He heard Len toss something, which landed on his head and figured it was his prize for the night. He opened it with less enthusiasm as the first and sighed when he discovered it was just a red silk tie. Something really fancy and probably more expensive than any tie he ever bought.

"For whenever we decide to eat at Sabatini's, as they require suit and tie. By the way, you did good tonight," Len said, putting away what he had bought and getting ready for bed. He had handled most of the talking in regards to Rob as it appeared Singh had wanted to keep up a certain charade, and Barry didn't want to blurt out something he shouldn't. Nothing he couldn't handle, even when the atmosphere changed while Rob had visited the bathroom.

Singh had made it very clear that his husband was to be kept away from their mission, but himself kept in the loop in case things went screwy and he needed to call in the cavalry. He agreed to explain things in the privacy of their room to Rob so he understood not to interfere either. Len felt tempted to inform Singh that that would be impossible, especially with them sharing dancing lessons together, but he wasn't obligated to inform him of that fact.

"How did you know to reserve a table for four? Did you know they were going to be on this ship?" Barry asked, finally sitting up to start undressing for bed.

"I recognized their names on the sign up sheet for our dance lessons. Didn't plan on having dinner with them until I saw Singh headed your way," Len explained, taking some sleepwear and going into the bathroom to change.

"Oh my god, he's gonna be so pissed! Should we scrap that idea?" Barry asked in worry. His Captain's wrath tended to stress him out under normal circumstances, but with the added stress of dealing with Luthor, Barry didn't know if he could handle anymore.

"No, Barry, you wanted to learn, so we'll learn. He's just going to have to deal with it," Len reassured. He wasn't losing any chances to seduce the speedster, and despite this trip not really being a vacation, he planned on making it as enjoyable as possible for them both.

Exiting the bathroom dressed in a full set of silk pajamas with a tank top underneath, Len wound up realizing he probably didn't need to do much more to seduce Barry, because he was sitting stretched out on the bed in just a pair of boxer-briefs and the tie he just received loosely tied around his neck. But his playful expression quickly turned into confusion and then embarrassment at the sight of Len fully covered from head to toe.

"I guess we had different ideas for tonight," Barry said, bringing his legs closer in a vulnerable gesture.

"More like different expectations," Len corrected softly. He got onto the bed and approached Barry carefully on all fours.

"Sorry, I just assumed-- I mean-- you got the condoms and-- nevermind," Barry babbled nervously, looking away and feeling stupid for thinking it was anything more than just for show. He had been wrong about Len being jealous over Clark, so why would he be right about this? He wasn't a catch by any means, and their little game on the side was just that, a game.

"I did get them for us to use, Barry, but I'm not sure you're ready for this," Len said in clarification as he settled down in front of Barry's legs. Receiving an offended look in response he added: "I mean mentally, not physically, which you're obviously more than ready for."

It didn't take much effort at all for Len to separate Barry's legs so he could move closer, his lips brushing against Barry's face as he moved his head to the side to whisper in the speedster's ear: "Believe me when I say I'd enjoy nothing more than to fuck you right now, make you moan, make you beg, and drive out every thought that isn't about what I'm doing to you."

His hand lightly traced along Barry's chest as he spoke, going up and down teasingly as his fingers drew closer to Barry's tented underwear on each down stroke. He had been right in thinking that Barry was eager for him, especially after hearing every gasp and breath so close to his ear, and he had to bite his own lip and look away for a moment so he wouldn't give in and just take Barry into his mouth right now. Sex wasn't going to be enough for Len, not at all.

"But," he said, sitting back and poking a finger at Barry's forehead, "you have too much going on in there. And if I've learned anything in regards to you, it's that you tend to make reckless decisions when highly stressed. I refuse to be a decision you regret."

With that finally said, he moved to his side of the bed and got under the covers, hoping his own erection hadn't been noticed.

"Um, I'm gonna go-- to the bathroom I mean," Barry said as he fumbled out of the bed, equal parts embarrassed and still turned on from feeling Len's hot breath against his ear and cool hand on his chest. Talk about a tease! But he understood what the other man was saying and would respect his choice to withhold sex. It would only make matters more complicated anyway. It was stupid to jump into bed together when not too long ago they were enemies.

Len sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night for the both of them.

-tbc

**Author's Note:**

> Follows most of season two continuity up to Zoom's demise, but excludes Iris and Barry wanting to hook up with each other and Barry going back in time to save his mom. Also, going to ignore LoT stuff cause that would just make this all sorts of confusing. Furthermore, you do not have to be familiar with Smallville at all, as anything you need to know will be explained. Finally, this fic may be a bit dialogue heavy.


End file.
